I want chickens for large brown eggs......Which breed do you suggest?

[countrygurl]

Marans are good layers, they lay upwards of 200 large-jumbo eggs a year, thats pretty good in my book. They are also good winter layers, they lay beautiful dark brown eggs. They are good brooders and good mothers, thay are also very friendly. They are good meat birds, so you can fry any extra roosters.

 

[Illia]

Okay, I think this goes for ANYONE wanting "a chicken that lays plenty of brown eggs" . . . Go to a feedstore and just get a chick. Any chick. Any of the following breeds, as even others are suggesting, are very very common at feedstores or hatcheries:

Buff Orpington
Red SexLink
Black SexLink
Black Australorp
Barred Rock

Out here that is the majority of the chicks in feedstores, and go for $2 a chick. Cheap, hardy, and lay a LOT of medium to large brown eggs.

 

[quiltnchik]

Red Sex-Links (aka: Red Star), hands down!

 

[janieschicks]

my vote is the golden comet, sex link. I got mine from Mt. Healthy almost 2 years ago, they started laying eggs at 5 months old. I get about 16 - 18 eggs everyday. Huge eggs, everyone fights over them at work, I never have enough eggs. One of my customers told me one egg makes 2 sandwiches! Nice rich yolks, they taste so good, and the chickens are very friendly!

 

[mener6896]

the first 2 chicks I got were red sexlinks, great layers, but the best part is that whenever I go outside they run up to me for me to pick them up!! They are by far my friendliest!! I also have RIR, which I really think are beautiful with their dark red feathers, also good layers. My Barred Plymoth rocks are good broodies, but not as good as my black cochin...awesome broody. Can you tell that I have trouble deciding!! If you look at my signature, you see all the breeds I have and I would get any of them again. However, my EE's are not the friendliest but I love blue and green eggs.

 

[chixrus]

Black stars (or black sexlinks) were the best for me, for sure. I'm getting more of them this year.

 

[americana-chick]

If you are buying from a feedstore i would go with some type of sexlink, orpington or production red/new hampshire because when i buy RIRs from my feedstore they are not good egg layers at all. But if you can find pure (or better quality than feedstore chicks) RIRs i bet they would be great layers.

 

[countrygurl]

While all of the sexlinks and RIR's are great they don't go broody so if you want a broody hen don't get a breed bred strictly for production.